Banish Those Thrifted Footwear Odours

The fabulous question of how to rid thrifted footwear of odours was recently posted to my Gone Thrifting group and I thought I’d share some of the handy how to’s that were served up!

Grab those stinky shoes, raid your cupboards and start neutralizing those unwanted aromas!

All of the gear needed for your deodorizing tool kit can be already found in your house (or reasonably purchased from the supermarket):

Charcoal, sealable plastic bags, baking soda, cornstarch, white vinegar, freezing temperatures, kitty litter & dryer sheets.

Handy tips for getting rid of footwear odour:

Place the shoes in a sealable plastic bag and put them in the freezer overnight. The freezing temperatures will kill most of the odour causing bacteria.

Spray an equal parts white vinegar and water mix directly into the shoe lining & insoles and let air dry for 30 minutes. Follow up with a bit of baking soda in the shoe overnight.

Put a few tablespoons of kitty litter + a teaspoon of baking soda into a pair of old socks or fabric scraps, tie off the top & place in the shoes overnight.

Sprinkle a teaspoon of baking soda into each shoe, shake well to ensure the powder reaches all areas of the shoe interiors and leave overnight.

Add an equal mixture of baking soda and cornstarch to a pair of cotton socks and pop them into the shoes overnight.

Break some charcoal into small pieces and place inside an old pair of tights, put them into the shoes and leave overnight.

Cut a dryer sheet in half & put a piece in each shoe after wearing to keep them smelling fresh. A single sheet can last for over a week.

If you haven’t already, head on over and join my Gone Thrifting group and share in the thrifty, refashioned, second hand, upcycled, DIY love!

Discover all of my cleaning & laundry tips here then check out my E-courses right over here:

and transform your entire wardrobe for pennies with my groovy CoaR tutorial E-book collections right here:

8 Comments

  1. Robin says:

    Great ideas! If only I could put my teenage son in the freezer! 😉

  2. Alice W says:

    I like all the ideas for keeping things fresh – I like to make my purchases last a good long time!

    For footwear that I have thrifted, I like the idea of killing the bacteria rather than just masking a smell, so I would tend to go for the freezer option first. I’ve also used the freezer for other thrifted items which might benefit from a good hot wash, but aren’t able to do so, such as a wool skirt or kids soft toys. It’s also supposed to be good for anything which has signs of moth damage, to stop it worsening. You have to make it sure it has been in long enough to freeze all the way through though, at least a few days.

  3. Deborah says:

    Great idea! I wonder if this would work on getting smells out of jeans and towels too? I never thought either about putting the smelly culprit in the freezer for a spell!

    1. I’ve often used the fabric in the freezer method for getting rid of musty odours and it works a treat! Sometimes it takes a couple of frozen days but after a good wash the smells are usually completely gone. 😀

  4. Good tips, I hadn’t thought of freezing for smells. I think the kitty litter has to be the fuller’s earth kind, I tend to use a wood pellet one and I don’t think that would work, not sure though.

    1. As I am violetly allergic to felines & most definitely not a cat-person I’m not exactly an authority on kitty litter 😉 that said, I do think that any brand that’s advertised to neutralize cat box odour should most likely do the trick.

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